It’s a great revelationto read the Gita by major theme instead of in the order it’s written. Today let’s talk about the second major theme:

EXPERIENCE INFINITE WONDER IN ALL THINGS

As with our previous blog, the Gita contains many powerful passages on this theme, but they are scattered throughout the text. When you read them all together, as below, the main ideas jump off the page with crystalline clarity.

Read though these stanzas slowly and thoughtfully, jotting down your reactions as you go. Share your comments and questions, and we’ll get some conversation going:

(For those new to Gita in a Nutshell, the main voice speaking here is the infinitely wondrous universe itself, what some refer to as the “Unfathomable Life Force of the Universe” and others choose to call “God”. In the Gita these are one and the same.)

Mature in yoga, impartial
everywhere that he looks,
he sees himself in all beings
and all beings in himself.

The man who sees me in everything
and everything within me
will not be lost to me, nor
will I ever be lost to him.

He who is rooted in oneness
realizes that I am
in every being, wherever
he goes, he remains in me.

When he sees all beings as equal
in suffering or in joy
because they are like himself,
that man has grown perfect in yoga. (BG 6.29-32)

~

I permeate all the universe
in my unmanifest form.
All beings exist within me,
yet I am so inconceivably

vast, so beyond existence,
that though they are brought forth
and sustained by my limitless power,
I am not confined within them.

Just as the all-moving wind,
wherever it goes, always
remains in the vastness of space,
all beings remain within me. (BG 9.4-6)

~

He who can understand
the glory of my manifestations
is forever united with me
by his unwavering love.

I am the source of all things,
and all things emerge from me;
knowing this, wise men worship
by entering my state of being. (BG 10.7-8)

~

Whatever in this world is excellent
and glows with intelligence or beauty—
be sure that it has its source
in a fragment of my divine splendor.

But what need is there for all these
details? Just know that I am,
and that I support the whole universe
with a single fragment of myself. (BG 10.41-42)

~

Look, Arjuna: thousands,
millions of my divine forms,
beings of all kinds and sizes,
of every color and shape.

Look: the sun gods, the gods
of fire, dawn, sky, wind, storm,
wonders that no mortal has every
beheld. Look! Look. Arjuna!

Comments

9896645 Responseshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.elephantjournal.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fgita-in-a-nutshell-2-experience-the-infinite-wonder-of-all-things-and-of-everyday-life%2FGita+in+a+Nutshell+%232%3A+Experience+Infinite+Wonder+in+All+Things2010-11-17+15%3A11%3A35Bob+Weisenberghttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.elephantjournal.com%2F%3Fp%3D98966 to “Gita in a Nutshell #2: Experience Infinite Wonder in All Things”

There's a fear, especially from Capitalists and neo-liberalists of this equal oneness we all speak about. The ego gets quite wound up at the thought of losing that uniqueness we all have.

But even though we are all one in 6 billion, we are still all the same. our uniqueness and ability to step out from the crowd is only that. We need an ability to recognise each other as different even though we are all one, all the same.

Mitchell's translation differs from many other translations of the BG in that he avoids the use of Self or Atman (in the first stanza "himself" is translated as "self" or "Self" by Stoller Miller and Easwaran, respectively). I can't help but wonder if such emphasis on modern pronouns–not to mention pronouns with gender bias–can take away from meaning and understanding.

I was only referring to one stanza, Bob, I wasn't criticizing all the passages.

I was posing a question rather than giving an answer, but I would say that both are equally important: the particular–or details–as well as the big picture. In fact, the Gita suggests we should see ourselves in both.

More than an invitation to meditation, the Gita is an instruction manual for the self-conscious human aspiring to live the purposeful life. The different types of Yoga that Krishna instructs Arjuna on, are meant to bring the seeking individual to the point of the integral "I". The Self, personified by Krishna, guides the resolute individual, into successively higher states of realization, through the various modes of Yoga, while reassuring him along the way that his efforts are never in vain and always successful. Eventually, the human being, overcoming his doubts and misconceptions, arrives at the supreme status of mental being, when he is presented with the vision of the Universal form, difficult as it is for her/him to grasp in totality, in chapter eleven.

Meditation is a tool to use to explore our minds and discover new feelings while feeling our emotions. It helps connect within ourselves and be aware of our surroundings. My meditation and yoga practice go in hand in hand

What these stanzas really meant to me is that they seemed to embody by thoughts on god and spirituality. As a way to tell someone "my god is not a person, but if it were, here is what it would say." I think if someone asked me right at this moment if I believed in god I might say I believe in humanity – not the kumbaya-we-are-the-world feel-good humanity, but the idea that there is something powerful beyond our understanding that connects us.

I think this is so powerful:

I permeate all the universe
in my unmanifest form.
All beings exist within me,
yet I am so inconceivably

vast, so beyond existence,
that though they are brought forth
and sustained by my limitless power,
I am not confined within them.

Just as the all-moving wind,
wherever it goes, always
remains in the vastness of space,
all beings remain within me. (BG 9.4-6)

I started a daily meditation practice at the end of my asana practice about a year ago. I've moved through various levels of understanding. But I haven't had the full blown "enlightenment" that is described.

To me the Gita is inspirational because occasionally a part of the text that was on first reading some pretty poetry becomes an actual manual for reaching that state. When I have experienced first hand the things that are described in the text, and then read the text for the first time, that was mind blowing.

The Gita is now like Patanjali to me, a text which describes the actuality that I have yet to experience.

I can't expect to jump to the end, not yet, I have too much anger to get rid of. Your replies always help Bob.

[…] (For those new to Gita in a Nutshell, the voice speaking here is the infinitely wondrous universe itself, what some refer to as the “Unfathomable Life Force of the Universe” and others choose to call “God”. In the Gita these are one and the same. See GN #2.) […]

[…] (For those new to Gita in a Nutshell, the voice speaking here is the infinitely wondrous universe itself, what some refer to as the “Unfathomable Life Force of the Universe” and others choose to call “God”. In the Gita these are one and the same. See GN #2.) […]

Thanks for having this group Bob. The gita is difficult, and your link to explaining why it’s difficult was nice to read.

The first thing I learned today is Krishna is interchangeable with ‘God’ or the ‘Universe’ (learned from the comment activity).

After reading BG 6.29-32 and 9.4-6, I thought these are immense ideas I believe I can grasp. My question here is, are these concepts are similar to traditional native American concepts about spirituality, where the spirit of the Great Spirit is in everything? Or am I off the mark?

I think that Becky has had the same questions I have had in the past. I grew up in a conventional Methodist family, and I still believe in God, but I am drawn to the Gita more and more. I just recently bought a book on it and am starting that too, so this will help reading these also, and the comments and questions.thank you.